When summer scorches in Korea, it’s traditional to have cold soy milk noodles. I know this gets lost in translation, but it tastes better than it sounds. Much better! And the best part is that it’s so easy (who wants to cook a lot in the hot summer), with only 4 ingredients, and it’s incredibly healthy with soy packing in a lot of protein with few calories, and it’s cheap. My kinda dish! That’s why I eat it a few times a week in the summer at least. Soy milk noodles are a summer must to beat the heat and sweat, that hits the spot, and beats air conditioning.

 

Veggies & Fruits

Traditionally, cucumbers are used, so I recommend it because cucumbers are naturally cool, crunchy, and refreshing, and it goes well with soy milk and noodles. But you can add any of your favorite veggies. You can also add fruits! So you can meet your fruit quota in one dish. Try using summer fruits like watermelon, pears, apples, kiwis, or cherry tomatoes, etc. I’ve used just about every kind of fruits and veggies in this dish, including greens and herbs.

 

This time, I used cucumbers, watermelon radishes (it was on sale!), fuji apples, and kiwis, but I also recommend watermelon, which are in season and seriously, so good, and it makes the dish even colder and refreshing. I also leave the skin on the cucumbers and the fruits, because the skin contains most of the nutrients. Just make sure your produce is organic and you rinse them well in cold water.  By the way, you can eat the skin of kiwis too.

 

No Recipe
You don’t need an exact recipe for this dish. But you can follow one below to start. Always taste as you cook and adjust to your liking.

 

Soy Milk
You can use homemade or organic store bought soy milk. And you can use as little or a lot in this dish.

 

Noodles
Somen are thin white noodles that are used for this dish, but I often use organic soba noodles, which are healthier because it’s made with buckwheat rather than wheat flour. So I would recommend that you start with these noodles, but I’ve also used angel hair pasta when I ran out of somen or soba and it worked fine, so anything goes.

 

Salt
The only seasoning is salt, so make sure you use quality salt. I prefer sea salt, but kosher or even coarse salt works well. Make sure you season to taste. If it’s too salty, add some water or more soy milk.

 

Side Dish
Soy milk noodles goes well with kimchi of any kind if you have some or pickled radishes or even pickled jalapenos, or just enjoy on its own.

 

Ice
You can also add ice cubes to the dish to make the dish even colder. It will be like jumping into a swimming pool, but better!

 

Cold Soy Milk Noodles
2 Servings

 

Ingredients
2-3 cups of organic soy milk; homemade or store bought
2 servings of noodles: Asian somen or soba noodles
1 organic cucumbers of any kind; julienne/ thinly sliced
1 teaspoon of sea or kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

 

Optional
Sesame seeds
Pine nuts or any chopped nuts
Ice

 

Directions

• In a medium size pot, cook the noodles following the direction on the package. Don’t overcook the noodles. Somen and soba takes much shorter time than pasta to cook. Rinse the noodles well under cold water several times.
• In a bowl, mix the soy milk, salt, and pepper and set aside.
• Divide the cold noodles and place them into bowls.
• Pour the soy milk directly into the bowls; filling up half way.
• Top with cucumbers and other veggies and fruits, if using.
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds and nuts, if using.

Koreans eat the noodles, veggies, and fruits first and then just drink the soy milk right from the bowl. It’s very refreshing and you don’t need a spoon. So, give it a try.
Enjoy and stay cool!